Granny's Lament
by jd4941
Summary: AU in FTL. Just some ruminations on Granny's and Regina's relationship. This is an accompaniment to all of my stories. Most especially My Tourniquet and Love Makes a Family. Don't have to read them but it wouldn't hurt. This is how I feel about how things went down between the two of them. Trigger Warnings inside.


************* I do not own OUaT nor any of its characters.*************

"They're here! They're here!" Snow yelled as she and Ruby stared out the window. She looked over to Granny who was sitting with Johanna, her wet nurse, "My new mother's here."

Granny and Johanna smiled at one another. The child had been so upset after losing her mother. So Granny had thought having Ruby around would be a great distraction for her. And the fact that she got to be around her granddaughter was also a bonus.

Then, tragedy almost took the child away from them. Her horse had runaway and Snow could've easily been thrown or crushed by the beast. She had insisted on going riding because she loved animals so. Ruby was a different story. Animals didn't seem to like her at all. So she had stayed and Snow had ridden alone.

Then, this new angel that Snow couldn't stop talking about had arrived and rescued the young Princess. After Snow's gushing over the new woman the King had had her brought to him. Granny was shocked to see she was a young beautiful girl.

The entire kingdom had been surprised when King Leopold had dropped to one knee and asked for her hand in marriage. The girl had stood in shock while her Mother reached out and grabbed the ring and put it onto her daughter's finger. Granny instantly got a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach.

Preparations had instantly been made. The wedding was to commence tomorrow. The entire kingdom plus many important people from neighboring kingdoms were all invited. And so the new Queen and her family were moving into the castle.

Everyone lined up and went outside to await the arrival of their new Queen Consort.

They bowed and made introductions. When the family stopped in front of Granny, she did a customary bow while taking a look at the girl in front of her. She had expected her to be young even though the King himself was quite old. Why, he was even older than Granny herself. But, she gasped to find that his bride-to-be was merely a child. The child had given her a shy smile before she continued the processional.

Then Granny looked up into the dead eyes of the child's Mother. Although she had a smile plastered to her face, it didn't go farther than her lips. And while holding her hand, Granny felt a chill run through her even on this hot summer day.

Granny smiled and brought the family up to their living quarters. She showed them all their rooms while Snow bounced around everyone intent on having all of Regina's attention on herself. Granny gave Johanna a look and she thankfully took the hint and diverted the child's attention to something away from the family.

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That night had been the quietest night of Granny's life since working in the castle. Since she was Regina's personal handmaid it was her duty to keep her mistress happy. But, it seemed there was no happiness to be found for her. She wasn't hungry and yet couldn't sleep. Finally, Granny settled for just telling her stories that she knew the child wasn't listening to as the two of the stared into the fire in her room.

Granny tried not to think of how the child looked like she wanted to leap outside the window and instead focused on the ceremony tomorrow. Hopefully, things would be better in the morning.

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"Please Mother," the child cried. "I'll do anything you want. I promise you I'll be good. Just please don't make me do this." The child stood shaking in her wedding gown.

The horror of the situation wasn't lost on Granny. A child in a wedding gown. It was shameful. And since knowing Regina she had been made acutely aware that though she was extremely beautiful and anyone could see why men would be interested in her, the girl was still nothing but a child. A mere slip of a girl whose beauty was her sin.

Cora had dismissed the other staff but Granny had remained steadfast by Regina's side. Granny looked over at her and watched her just eye her daughter up and down with a detached stare as she straightened her gown here and there.

"Mother – " the child tried again.

Her Mother rose from her ministrations, drew back her hand and slapped her so hard she wobbled on her feet. Granny's head reared back and she worried her hands in the corner. She looked over at Henry, Regina's father and he was doing the same.

Cora stared at her daughter coldly, "You will do this. And you will not embarrass me any further with your incessant whining. I worked my entire life to get you to this place. And you will go through with it you ungrateful brat."

Regina held her cool hand over where her Mother had slapped her. "Yes, Mother," she whimpered.

Her mother drew back her other hand and slapped Regina once again on the other side. "Now you match," Cora stormed out the room to see to getting herself ready for the royal occasion.

As they began to hear music playing Regina gave it one last try. She ran over to her Father and put her arms on his shoulders. "Father, Father, please I beg you."

Her father just patted her back and pulled away, "It will be over soon honey. And then your Mother will be happy. It won't be so bad. You get to be Queen."

"I DON'T WANT TO BE QUEEN! I wanted Daniel and she took him from me. I want to be married and I want Mother to be happy. But Father please not like this!" Regina's voice was becoming desperate as she heard people coming towards her room.

The door was opened and a guard poked his head in. "It's time."

Cora came into sight in the doorway and Regina stood with her head lowered. She stiffened her back and her father took her arm in his.

As they passed her Mother, Granny saw her reach out and put her nails into Regina's back. Regina whimpered and held her head up with her back straight. She walked down the aisle resigned to her fate.

As they stood watching Ruby turned to her and asked, "Why is no one helping her? She doesn't want to be here."

"Shhh," Granny quieted her. "It's an honor to marry a King," as she said it she noted the way Regina trembled and the pallor on her face. Since Granny had been looking out for her she had noted that she didn't seem to eat nor sleep well. It wasn't for the first time that she saw that being a royal wasn't all princesses in dresses and elaborate balls.

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Regina had gotten through the ceremony without embarrassing herself. Then, she had sat next to the King ignoring his eyes trailing over her body as they sat at the reception hall. A few of the more drunken and crass royals made jokes about how much fun the King was going to have tonight and hoped she'd gotten enough sleep because she wouldn't be getting anymore if they had been lucky enough to marry her.

The King laughed at their jokes. Regina kept her head down and everyone believed it was modesty. It wasn't. It was to stop herself from puking.

After the reception, the King ordered Granny and the other handmaids to get Regina ready for his bedchambers. In his previous marriage, he had shared a bed with his Queen. In this one, the Queen was to come to him at night while still maintaining her own separate quarters next to Snow's so that she could be available to her.

Granny watched as Regina's face drained of color. It struck her again at how young she was. She looked at Red. The two girls weren't far apart in age at all. She thanked the heavens it wasn't her granddaughter who had caught the King's eye.

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After getting Regina bathed and into a nightgown and a robe that had been made especially for this night, Granny was putting the finishing touches on her when her Mother came into the room.

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Regina had been crying since entering the room. Again the shaking and tears were on the verge of hysteria. But once Cora walked into the room, she quieted.

Cora sent Granny to wait outside. Regina looked at her with such pain in her eyes that Granny had to conjure up every bit of strength she had not to take the child and run. She waited outside the door.

Ruby stood outside in the hallway looking over at her Granny. Granny assured her everything was fine and shooed her away. She had already given Ruby some earplugs and made her wear them. She knew her granddaughter had a special condition that made her highly sensitive to smells, light, dark, and sounds. She also knew she didn't want to scar her for life of what she knew was about to come.

Granny heard crying and begging from the child. Then, her mother answering her in a cold voice. Then there was silence. Followed by the sound of something hitting skin followed by cries of pain. 1, 2, 3 – it went on and on until Granny stopped bothering to count. After a few minutes, the door opened and Cora strode out with her daughter following stiffly behind her.

Cora and Granny walked the child to the King's quarters. Cora stood outside the door while Granny and Regina stood inside of it. Regina looked over at her Mother as if she was still sure that she would be saved.

The King strode in with a glass of wine in his hand. He downed it and stared at the young girl in such a way that Granny lowered her eyes in shame. "Take those clothes off of her and leave."

Granny began to take the robe off of Regina. She felt the child trembling and saw the tears starting up once again. She rubbed her hand along her arm trying to impart as much comfort into her as she could.

Granny walked into the hallway with Cora. The two of them stood there while they listened to sounds that leaked from the door. They heard Regina scream, beg, and cry. They heard the King laugh and moan and grunt.

Finally, Regina came out of the room. Her hair and clothes were a mess. Granny looked over at Cora and saw her smile. Granny's blood ran cold.

Regina was clutching her arms around her middle. She was bent over and as they walked back towards her rooms Granny saw drips of blood falling.

Granny ordered water to be brought up for the Queen to have a bath. She sat the child in a chair before she fell over. Her eyes were blank and her face was etched in pain and her crying had once again returned to the verge of hysteria.

Cora beamed and smiled down at the child. Granny wished she would go. Hadn't she made her child suffer enough without standing and gloating above her?

After her bath was drawn, Cora finally left. Granny helped Regina into the bath. At first Regina sat there crying while Granny washed her. Then, she grabbed the soap and scrubber away from Granny and began to dig it frantically into her flesh. She scrubbed until she was raw.

Granny got her out of the bath and into a clean nightgown. She put the child into bed. Her tears never stopped flowing.

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The following nights all began and ended the same. Regina being literally sick to her stomach before being marched to the King's bed. And afterward, the child would be nothing more than a walking corpse.

Granny looked her over. She had lost so much weight and had shrunken inside herself.

Unfortunately for her, the King's appetites had also increased over time. It wasn't just the nights Regina was called for to service him. Sometimes it was multiple times a day. Granny ordered a second bathtub be placed near the first. That way Regina could wash in one and then soak in the other.

The only good thing to come out of all of this was that wretched horror of a Mother of hers was no longer around. Granny hated to see the way that even as her daughter was now officially a Queen it was her Mother who pulled her strings. Hers and everyone else's around her. Granny could see straight through her though to the black heart she had to have inside.

Unfortunately, that didn't stop Princess Snow from wanting her to be her mother/playmate. Granny tried to run interference as much as possible but the child just wouldn't quit. She would insist on being in Regina's company when it was completely obvious that Regina wanted nothing but the opposite.

One day Granny overheard Snow complaining to her Father of not having enough time with Regina because she was always in the stables. And when she tried riding with her Regina went too fast and she couldn't keep up. Granny's blood ran cold knowing that Regina was going to pay a price for Snow's obliviousness.

The next morning, Granny watched near the stables as the King waited for Regina to return from her ride. He grabbed her as she came down off the horse and ordered her horse to be tied down. He slit the horse's neck while he held onto a handful of Regina's hair forcing her to watch. The horse cried out as Regina let out a scream. The King forced her into the stables and all you heard was his grunting and the rhythmic staccato of something beating against the walls.

Afterward the King came out and strolled back into the castle. Regina walked out barely able to stand upright but still clutching at her skirts. She pleaded with the Guards to help him but they had gotten orders from the King not to. Granny held onto Regina as she held onto her horse. After the horse took his final wheezing wetly gasping breath, Regina had to be torn away from him.

Granny walked her back into the castle and put her to bed with a compress.

"I'm going to kill them," Regina growled under her breath before falling into a deep sleep.

Granny watched her with her hands clenched worrying at one another. She sent up a prayer for someone to please watch over this child.

Regina changed after that day. Everyday she became more and more like Cora. Granny tried talking to her. Reminding Regina of who she was and that she had people who loved her.

She dismissed Granny from her employ shortly thereafter. Granny left with Red and tears in her eyes.

She knew there was no going back for either of them.


End file.
